This invention relates to ornamental and protective edge guards which are applied to the edges of sheet metal closures of an automotive vehicle, such as the vehicle's doors.
In a typical automotive vehicle, door edge guards are applied to the trailing edges of the vehicle's doors to protect the door edges from damage which might be caused by striking an object which may be present in a door's path when the door is opened. It is very desirable for such door edge guards to be made of bright metal, such as stainless steel, aluminum, or bimetal, due to the superior protective and ornamental characteristics of such material. Furthermore, the inherent strength and resiliency of such metallic edge guards enable them to be self-retaining on the doors. Correspondingly, it is generally undesirable to use separate fasteners or adhesives in securing door edge guards to doors since they involve extra cost in labor and materials. It is also generally undesirable to use non-metallic edge guards, such as vinyl edge guards, since they do not possess the superior protective, ornamental, and self-retention characteristics of the bright metallic edge guards. In connection with the usage of self-retaining door edge guards, it has heretofore been recognized that the potential for paint scratching and marring exists when the metallic edge guards are applied to vehicle doors. Such paint scratching can lead to premature corrosion of the door edge metal.
Some of applicant's own prior inventions have addressed the paint scratching problem and provided solutions. For example, see applicant's own U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,687 and applicant's pending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 118,475 filed Feb. 4, 1980 4,334,700, Ser. No. 132,525 filed Mar. 21, 1980 4,316,348 Ser. No. 21,084 filed Mar. 15, 1979 4,259,812 and Ser. No. 21,085 filed Mar. 16, 1979 4,271,637.
In these pending applications the use of plastic liners to insulate the metallic edge guard from the door edge is disclosed. These liners may be plastic extruded to form a generally U-shaped cross section suitable for nesting within the U-shaped metallic edge guard. The use of foam plastic as a linear is also contemplated.
The present invention is directed to an improved metallic edge guard and insulating liner construction which provides additional advantages and benefits. More specifically the invention permits the liner to be made from a thin sheet of plastic film which would generally not be recognized as suitable for such usage. This means that the process of extruding plastic to a given cross sectional shape which will fit within the metallic edge guard, as described in the aforementioned patent applications, can be done away with thereby yielding a valuable economy in manufacture of insulated edge guards. Moreover the invention may be practiced with virtually any construction of metallic edge guard.
In a self-retaining door edge guard the free end of each leg bears against opposite sides of the marginal door edge portion on which the edge guard is disposed. During application of the edge guard to the door the leg of the edge guard customarily flexes outwardly to accomodate the door edge. Where an insulating liner is disposed between the metallic edge guard and the door, the liner, particularly the liner legs, are subjected to rather severe compressing and deformation forces during application of the edge guard to the door. Of course with an extruded liner the inherent strength of the extrusion tends to obscure the very existence of these forces and they would certainly not be considered a problem. However in view of the interaction between the edge guard and the door, the use of a thin plastic film for an insulator would seem undesirable.
Applicant has discovered a new and unique construction whereby a thin sheet of plastic film may be used as a liner for a metallic edge guard in spite of the rather severe forces encountered during application of the edge guard to a door. As a result the manufacturer of an insulated door edge guard does not require the use of extruded liners, thereby yielding a more economical construction. Instead it is possible to use thin plastic sheet material which is readily commercially available from a number of commercial sources.
Briefly the invention provides an improved door edge guard construction wherein the insulating liner comprises a thin sheet of grained plastic film arranged with the grain running generally lengthwise of the edge molding. The sheet of plastic film is highly resistant to tearing across the grain, and therefore when the edge guard is applied to the door, the compression and deformation forces act across the grain of the liner, which is where the film possesses maximum strength and resistance to tearing. Thus the improved edge guard of the present invention allows the thin liner film to remain intact so as to protectively insulate the metallic edge guard from the door metal after the installation is complete .